The Madras High Court today issued bailable warrant for the arrest of five former police officials and directed they be produced in the court on June 20 in connection with the ‘Advocate Vijayan Assault Case’.
The five policemen and another person were charged with engineering four fake surrenders in court in connection with the alleged assault on advocate K M Vijayan on July 21, 1994, when he was about to leave for Delhi to move the Supreme Court against the Tamil Nadu government’s reservation policy.
On September 29, 1998, the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate acquitted the five police officials and another
accused following which the case was handed ovr to CBI. BI.
The five former police officials are the then Assistant Commissioner of Police, T.Nagar, I.Durairaj, Inspector,
Kodambakkam, M Rangarajan, Sub-Inspector (SI), Kodambakkam, Venugopal, SI, Nungambakkam M Manickam and SI, Pondy Bazaar Krishnamoorthy.
Issuing the warrants, Justice T Sudanthiram said that though the appeal was admitted in 1999 and notice had been
ordered, so far notice could be served only on Rangarajan and Sambasivam, the sixth accused and his Counsel had already entered appearance on his behalf.
In these circumstances, according to the prosecution, notice could not be served on the other persons. Hence, he was issuing a bailable warrant against the other five, he said.
In the event of their arrest, the five should be released on bail on executing a bond for Rs 10,000 each to the
satisfaction of the arresting officer and appear before the court on June 20.
The Judge also directed the Registrar (Judicial) and the Assistant Registrar, Criminal Side, to furnish a report giving reasons why notice had not been served on the policemen for several years.
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